Government of South Australia Adopts Blockchain Technology for Upcoming Elections

The government of South Australia will organize the country’s first blockchain technology-based elections to elect people into the state’s council.

According to sources, the government has awarded the contract to Horizon State – a blockchain start-up experienced in the implementation of blockchain technology for elections. Horizon state will implement a blockchain-based voting system for the Recreational Fishing Advisory Council elections which features a list of 45 candidates vying for 5 positions.

Speaking on the blockchain implementation, CEO of Horizon State Nimo Naamani remarks:

This is an exciting first government use of our tech in Australia, and a great way to validate the blockchain use for this purpose.

The CEO also expressed satisfaction with the government’s choice of the tech and his company; as he commended

The South Australian government is very forward thinking and we are honoured they chose us to provide the technology. This, to shows their commitment to innovation, transparency and responsible use of government funds.

He further described blockchain technology as a perfect choice for complex elections of this type considering the preferential seats in contention and large number of candidates.

Also commenting on the elections, South Australia’s Minister for Primary Industries had this to say:

Blockchain is an exciting emerging technology which is extremely secure and already used all over the world to perform valuable transactions.

He went on to express his view on South Australia becoming “the blockchain capital of the country.”

The government of South Australia had last year received a grant to develop a blockchain hub in the capital city of Adelaide, just as it plans to host an international Australian Davos Blockchain Summit in March this year. The Horizon State company on its part has remarkably made significant inroads in the blockchain voting niche; with the Democratic Party of India and New Zealand’s Opportunity Party all utilizing its tech systems.

More Use-Cases in Electoral Processes

This is however not the first of blockchain’s use for electoral processes globally; New Zealand, West Virginiaand a few others have all experimented blockchain for elections through pilot projects. Though at a minimal scale, the results and outcomes of these trials prove its implementation is possible and will curb out flaws or issues with the current paper ballot system. Others have also tried out merging the blockchain system with a fully backed online voting system.

Blockchain use-cases continue to expand across various sectors from health, finance, supply chains, shipping/cargo, identity systems among others. Its potential when infused in human delivered processes like elections remains a great choice to curb irregularities, election fraud and other related anomalies.

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